System and method for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise
First Claim
1. A method of managing a configuration of resources in an enterprise, the method comprising:
- defining, through the use of a processor operatively coupled to a configuration database, a proposed configuration change for at least one information technology (IT) resource in a plurality of IT resources,wherein the configuration database stores historical, current, and scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources defined in terms of configuration items for the plurality of IT resources, such that the historical, current, and future configurations of the plurality of IT resources can be accessed for any given point in time,wherein the configuration database further stores links between configuration items of the plurality of IT resources that are linked together through upstream, downstream, or peer relationships organized according to a dimensional model;
wherein the proposed configuration change to the at least one IT resource is defined in terms of the configuration items for the at least one IT resource and comprises at least one proposed new, updated, or deleted configuration item for the at least one IT resource, and proposed links with configuration items for at least a second IT resources of the plurality of IT resources within the enterprise;
determining, through the use of a processor, a likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change by performing an automatic risk analysis of the proposed configuration change,wherein the automatic risk analysis compares the configuration items of the proposed configuration change for the at least one IT resource with the success of the historical configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, the success of the current configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, and the scheduled future configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items; and
further compares the proposed links of the at least one IT resource with the links to the configuration items of the current configurations and the scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources; and
wherein the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change increases based on the collective success of the historical configurations that have similar configuration items and the current configurations that have similar configuration items, and as the number of scheduled future configurations that have similar configuration items increases;
releasing, through the use of the processor, the proposed configuration change when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change meets a threshold value and submitting the proposed configuration change for further evaluation when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change does not meet the threshold value; and
registering, through the use of the processor, the configuration items of the proposed configuration change in the configuration database when the proposed configuration change is released so that the configuration database maintains the current configurations of the plurality of IT resources, maintains the linked relationship of the configuration items, and can be used to determine the likelihood of success of future proposed configuration changes.
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Abstract
System and method for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise. Embodiments of the present invention gather, store, and maintain institutional knowledge of configurations of IT resources of an enterprise. A configuration database serves as a temporal record of the configurations of the resources. The configuration database can reflect a dimensional model of the enterprise configuration where various configuration items are linked together. A configuration change can be analyzed and approved, and then reflected in a change to a configuration item (CI) which imposes an appropriate change to other configuration items based on upstream, downstream, peer relationships and/or views. A system according to an embodiment of the invention can also include a change database, an inventory database, a problem database, and/or a service level management subsystem to ensure changes to an enterprise'"'"'s configuration are consistent with service level agreements and/or operating level agreements.
122 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of managing a configuration of resources in an enterprise, the method comprising:
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defining, through the use of a processor operatively coupled to a configuration database, a proposed configuration change for at least one information technology (IT) resource in a plurality of IT resources, wherein the configuration database stores historical, current, and scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources defined in terms of configuration items for the plurality of IT resources, such that the historical, current, and future configurations of the plurality of IT resources can be accessed for any given point in time, wherein the configuration database further stores links between configuration items of the plurality of IT resources that are linked together through upstream, downstream, or peer relationships organized according to a dimensional model; wherein the proposed configuration change to the at least one IT resource is defined in terms of the configuration items for the at least one IT resource and comprises at least one proposed new, updated, or deleted configuration item for the at least one IT resource, and proposed links with configuration items for at least a second IT resources of the plurality of IT resources within the enterprise; determining, through the use of a processor, a likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change by performing an automatic risk analysis of the proposed configuration change, wherein the automatic risk analysis compares the configuration items of the proposed configuration change for the at least one IT resource with the success of the historical configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, the success of the current configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, and the scheduled future configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items; and
further compares the proposed links of the at least one IT resource with the links to the configuration items of the current configurations and the scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources; and
wherein the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change increases based on the collective success of the historical configurations that have similar configuration items and the current configurations that have similar configuration items, and as the number of scheduled future configurations that have similar configuration items increases;releasing, through the use of the processor, the proposed configuration change when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change meets a threshold value and submitting the proposed configuration change for further evaluation when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change does not meet the threshold value; and registering, through the use of the processor, the configuration items of the proposed configuration change in the configuration database when the proposed configuration change is released so that the configuration database maintains the current configurations of the plurality of IT resources, maintains the linked relationship of the configuration items, and can be used to determine the likelihood of success of future proposed configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program product for managing a configuration of resources in an enterprise, the computer program product comprising computer program code, the computer program code further comprising:
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instructions for defining a proposed configuration change for at least one information technology (IT) resource in a plurality of IT resources, wherein a configuration databased is used to store historical, current, and scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources defined in terms of configuration items for the plurality of IT resources, such that the historical, current, and future configurations of the plurality of IT resources can be accessed for any given point in time, resources, or scheduling a new configuration of the one or more IT resources, and wherein the configuration database further comprises a plurality of configuration item records organized according to a dimensional model and describing the configuration of the IT resources in the enterprise; wherein the configuration database further stores links between configuration items of the plurality of IT resources that are linked together through upstream, downstream, or peer relationships organized according to a dimensional model; wherein the proposed configuration change to the at least one IT resource is defined in terms of the configuration items for the at least one IT resource and comprises at least one proposed new, updated, or deleted configuration item for the at least one IT resource, and proposed links with configuration items for at least a second IT resources of the plurality of IT resources within the enterprise; instructions for determining a likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change by performing an automatic risk analysis of the proposed configuration change, wherein the automatic risk analysis compares the configuration items of the proposed configuration change for the at least one IT resource with the success of the historical configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, the success of the current configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, and the scheduled future configurations that have similar configuration items; and
further compares the proposed links of the at least one IT resource with the links to the configuration items of the current configurations and the scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources, and wherein the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change increases based on the collective success of the historical configurations that have similar configuration items and the current configurations that have similar configuration items, and as the number of scheduled future configurations that have similar configuration items increases;instructions for releasing the proposed configuration change when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change meets a threshold value and submitting the proposed configuration change for further evaluation when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change does not meet the threshold value; and instructions for registering the configuration items of the proposed configuration change in the configuration database when the proposed configuration change is released so that the configuration database maintains the current configurations of the plurality of IT resources, maintains the linked relationship of the configuration items, and can be used to determine the likelihood of success of future proposed configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. Apparatus for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise, the apparatus comprising:
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means for defining a proposed configuration change for at least one information technology (IT) resource in a plurality of IT resources, wherein the configuration database stores historical, current, and scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources defined in terms of configuration items for the plurality of IT resources, such that the historical, current, and future configurations of the plurality of IT resources can be accessed for any given point in time, wherein the configuration database further stores links between configuration items of the plurality of IT resources that are linked together through upstream, downstream, or peer relationships organized according to a dimensional model; wherein the proposed configuration change to the at least one IT resource is defined in terms of the configuration items for the at least one IT resource and comprises at least one proposed new, updated, or deleted configuration item for the at least one IT resource, and proposed links with configuration items for at least a second IT resources of the plurality of IT resources within the enterprise; means for determining a likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change by performing an automatic risk analysis of the proposed configuration change, wherein the automatic risk analysis compares the configuration items of the proposed configuration change for the at least one IT resource with the success of the historical configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, the success of the current configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, and the scheduled future configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items; and
further compares the proposed links of the at least one IT resource with the links to the configuration items of the current configurations and the scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources, and wherein the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change increases based on the collective success of the historical configurations that have similar configuration items and the current configurations that have similar configuration items, and as the number of scheduled future configurations that have similar configuration items increases;means for releasing the proposed configuration change when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change meets a threshold value and submitting the proposed configuration change for further evaluation when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change does not meet the threshold value; and means for registering the configuration items of the proposed configuration change in the configuration database when the proposed configuration change is released so that the configuration database maintains the current configurations of the plurality of IT resources, maintains the linked relationship of the configuration items, and can be used to determine the likelihood of success of future proposed configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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34. A system for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise, the system comprising:
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a processor; a configuration database, operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured for storing and retrieving information on the configuration database; and
wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer-readable program code for;defining a proposed configuration change for at least one information technology (IT) resource in a plurality of IT resources, wherein the configuration database stores historical, current, and scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources defined in terms of configuration items for the plurality of IT resources, such that the historical, current, and future configurations of the plurality of IT resources can be accessed for any given point in time, wherein the configuration database further stores links between configuration items of the plurality of IT resources that are linked together through upstream, downstream, or peer relationships organized according to a dimensional model; wherein the proposed configuration change to the at least one IT resource is defined in terms of the configuration items for the at least one IT resource and comprises at least one proposed new, updated, or deleted configuration item for the at least one IT resource, and proposed links with configuration items for at least a second IT resources of the plurality of IT resources within the enterprise; determining a likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change by performing an automatic risk analysis of the proposed configuration change, wherein the automatic risk analysis compares the configuration items of the proposed configuration change for the at least one IT resource with the success of the historical configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, the success of the current configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items, and the scheduled future configurations for the plurality of IT resources that have similar configuration items; and
further compares the proposed links of the at least one IT resource with the links to the configuration items of the current configurations and the scheduled future configurations of the plurality of IT resources, and wherein the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change increases based on the collective success of the historical configurations that have similar configuration items and the current configurations that have similar configuration items, and as the number of scheduled future configurations that have similar configuration items increases;releasing the proposed configuration change when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change meets a threshold value and submitting the proposed configuration change for further evaluation when the likelihood of success of the proposed configuration change does not meet the threshold value, and registering the configuration items of the proposed configuration change in the configuration database when the proposed configuration change is released so that the configuration database maintains the current configurations of the plurality of IT resources, maintains the linked relationship of the configuration items, and can be used to determine the likelihood of success of future proposed configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification